


$1200 Waste Of Time

by Aaron_The_8th_Demon



Series: Holding [10]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Gambling, Humor, M/M, No Angst, Surprise Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 22:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aaron_The_8th_Demon/pseuds/Aaron_The_8th_Demon
Summary: Miller and Krug run the betting pool. McAvoy lets himself get suckered into it. Chara disapproves. Marchand makes plans.





	$1200 Waste Of Time

**Author's Note:**

> This went in a little bit of a different direction than I thought it would, but whatever.

The betting pool had been going for years, now. Nobody really remembered who’d even come up with the idea, because it was a drunk rant from some player who got traded shortly following (obviously for unrelated reasons). If you put money into the betting pool, you had to hope and pray that you wouldn’t get traded before it got settled, because if you did, no refunds.

There were plenty of categories, most for Marchand because he was so loud and ridiculous and generally unable to do something that people wouldn’t notice. With this in mind, everyone had put their brains together to come up with as many scenarios as they could. After a win, after a regulation loss, after an overtime loss, after a party, during a bye week, during the playoffs (round notwithstanding), between seasons, during the preseason, before/after a practice, after an injury. And then location: his apartment, Bergeron’s apartment, the locker room, a restaurant (or similar public establishment), on the bus, on the plane, at a hotel, at the hospital, on the ice, other. You could get a twenty dollar bonus if you guessed correctly whether it would be something loud and dramatic, or if Marchy tried to be quiet about it but it ended up being loud and dramatic anyway.

There was only two other options besides those: that Bergy would do it before Marchy got the chance, or that it would get announced over internet/news media for whatever reason. In the case of that second one, nobody would win; the money would be divided up equally (within five cents) among the participants.

Whenever rookies were brought into the fold, they were always instructed about the betting pool, too, on the condition that they informed neither Bergy nor Marchy about its existence. Most opted not to put in, but sometimes they would play. Providence call-ups to fill in for injured players weren’t allowed to participate, though. At one point Trent Frederic got upset about that, and then pointed out that if this betting pool had been around for seven years now and still hadn’t been resolved, it’s probably not going to happen and they should give up. A new stipulation was added: if it happened that Marchy or Bergy stopped being part of the team for some reason (no matter how unlikely it seemed) before the end of the 2019-2020 regular season, then they’d do the same as with an internet announcement and just divide up equally.

The bets were kept track of on Miller’s iPad. He was also in charge of telling the rookies about it, and had given the speech so much he didn’t have to make anything up on the spot anymore. “See, it’s almost $1200 by now because it’s been going on so long. Each year you participate, you throw in twenty five for each option that you want to pick. So, if you pick three or four, it’ll be more expensive, but you’re more likely to win. If you’re the only one who picks an option, you win the whole pool. Otherwise it gets split between the winners, obviously. If you bet on Brad, no matter what scenario and location, you also pick whether it’s this big grand gesture from him or if he tries to keep quiet and fails. If you guess right, there’s a twenty dollar bonus, and we’ll also get you a pizza of your choosing.”

There was just one time he actually had to explain what was being bet on, here, and it was to Charlie McAvoy, who was somehow unaware of the things going on in his new team. “So… wait, what is this even for, Kevan?”

Miller rolled his eyes. “The sexual tension between Brad and Pat is so bad I’m surprised it doesn’t melt the whole rink sometimes. We’re trying to guess who’s going to admit it first, but it can’t be over the internet.”

“And it’s always been like this?”

“Ever since 2011,” Miller nodded. “Look, kid. You’re gonna learn this pretty fast here, but there’s some team mates who… you love them like your own family, but they’re just so damn stupid sometimes. That’s how these two are for everyone, especially Brad. Mostly Brad. Bergy’s great with everything else, but he’s totally failing at this.” They both have to stop talking and act natural when Marchy comes into the locker room whistling the tune of some pop song from the radio, but when Miller’s satisfied he’s not paying attention to them they start whispering. “So, you in?”

“Uh… yeah, okay. Who do I pay?”

“It used to be Boychuk, but he got traded a few years ago. Now Krug hangs onto the cash. Just pick which ones you want, I’ll let him know, and then you pay him at the next practice. Make sure they’re not looking when you do, Bergy almost caught us once.”

Charlie, not really knowing the team that well yet, seemed like he chose two at random and guessed Marchy would do something loud and stupid on purpose. Miller sent him on his way after putting the rookie’s name into his iPad, then moved to gear up only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“I thought you all stopped with this foolish pool,” came Chara’s voice from behind him.

Miller turned and offered a guilty smile: “Well, Z, it’s kinda on you for thinking that, isn’t it?”

“Tell me, Kevan, what happens to this money if Patrice retires without anything happening?”

“Oh come on,” Miller scoffed. “It’s going to happen sooner or later and we all know it. Z, we’re being cool about it, okay? Nobody’s actually pushing them or anything, we’re letting it unfold naturally or whatever.”

Chara frowned disapprovingly. “You are taking money from rookies.”

“I’m not taking the money, Krug has it in a box in his house… Z, come on, we’re not hurting anyone. Nobody’s forcing anyone else to make bets, it’s just for fun.”

“As long as it stays that way and you keep not hurting anyone,” Chara finally sighed. “But I want you to stop bringing in new people after this season. No more bets after March.”

“Fine,” Miller grumbled. “No more bets after March.”

“What’s getting bet on?” Marchy shouted from his stall.

Miller cringed on the inside. “Nothing anymore, Z’s putting a stop to it.”

Marchy, thankfully, seems satisfied with that answer after thinking about it for a second. “Why do you have to be such a buzz-kill, Z? Let Kevan waste his money on stupid shit that he won’t win!”

Chara rolled his eyes and muttered something in Slovak before going to his stall. Miller was able to chill enough that Marchy wasn’t looking at him suspiciously while he threw on his gear and practice jersey.

* * *

After practice, Brad went over to Patrice’s apartment after going home to drop off his stuff.

“They got Charlie, didn’t they?” Patrice chuckled as he came in.

“Yup. Kevan thinks he’s quiet.”

“They all think they’re quiet,” his boyfriend snorted. “Do you think we should just tell them?”

“That they’ve been betting pointlessly for five years…? I don’t know, Pat, let’s wait a little longer. At least until it gets up to $1200, because if we just announce it in the middle of the locker room, maybe they’ll pay _us_ all that money.”


End file.
